I Thought I Didn’t Need a Bluetooth Speaker, but Then I Was Gifted One

I never thought of myself as the target audience for Bluetooth speakers. I live in an apartment, so I always listen to music through my PC speakers. When I go outside, my earbuds are all I really need. I didn’t see how a Bluetooth speaker could fit into my everyday life until I was gifted one.

A Significant Upgrade Over Built-in Speakers

Whether it’s a $1,500 folding phone or a $150 budget unit, there’s one thing that all smartphones have in common—crappy speakers. Of course, some are louder and better than others, but they’re still all tiny units packed into a small phone. The physical limitations simply put smartphone speakers at a disadvantage. The solution? A dedicated speaker that has room for a significantly larger speaker driver and room to push more air.

When I turned on my Bluetooth speaker for the first time, the thing that surprised me the most wasn’t the loudness—I expected it to be reasonably loud—it was the bass. To reproduce low frequencies at a reasonable volume, the speaker needs lots of power to drive a large driver, which is why traditional subwoofers are so large and push large amounts of air.

Smartphones use some clever tricks to improve volume and bass. One particularly popular trick is the use of tiny styrofoam balls inside the speaker, which increase the surface area and resonance to boost the volume. Still, they’re no match for a Bluetooth speaker.

While single-driver Bluetooth speakers use an all-purpose woofer just like your phone, they’re much larger than what your phone packs, so they can produce surprisingly powerful bass. Depending on the surface you place the speaker on, you can further boost the volume and bass because the surface acts as a resonating body. I find my washing machine to be a particularly great spot to put my Bluetooth speaker when I’m in the shower.

TV Shows and Movies Get So Much Better

Bluetooth speakers are incredibly convenient and easy to use. Once you pair it to your phone, you just have to turn on the speaker and connect to it manually if it doesn’t do so automatically. If I’m going to spend more than 5 minutes watching a video, or if I’m going to watch a TV show, setting up the speaker is so worth the effort.

Although my phone isn’t my primary device for watching movies and TV shows (my TV is), I still use it occasionally. I can’t hear my phone’s speaker when I’m doing the dishes, and the tap is on, but my Bluetooth speaker mitigates the issues because it’s so much louder, and I can actually hear the dialogue. I could technically go for my earbuds, but I strongly prefer not to have them in my ears if I don’t have to.

Since most laptop speakers suck even more than phones, Bluetooth speakers make for a great travel companion. They’re small and portable, so you can easily throw one into the laptop bag for later use. You can even use the laptop’s USB port to charge the speaker and keep it semi-permanently connected so that it serves as a replacement for your laptop’s speakers.

A Bluetooth Speaker Doesn’t Have to Be Expensive

My Bluetooth speaker is a cheap little thing. Still, the improvement in sound quality compared to my smartphone is like night and day. The bass is actually present, the vocals are clear, and it has a wider sound stage that allows me to hear each instrument distinctly. Of course, it’s no match for a half-decent pair of proper stereo speakers or studio monitors, but in contrast to my smartphone’s speaker, the difference is obvious.

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Even if you don’t need a good speaker or care one bit about sound quality, you should still get a Bluetooth speaker. Earbuds aside, it’s the perfect audio device to combine with your phone, whether you’re listening to a podcast in your car, dancing to music in the shower, or watching YouTube while eating and washing dishes.